Survival Of The Fittest

Sal stood to the side, watching awkwardly as the two sisters reunited. It wasn't that he wasn't happy for them or anything, but... well, there really wasn't anything he could do but watch. The fact that Yuka's sister had made it through the past few days was definitely encouraging, though with how things had been going so far... it would do for him to get his hopes up.

He gave a smile and limply raised his hand as Yuki pointed them out. He didn't know Yuki nearly as well as her sister, but he trusted that Yuka would be able to explain that they weren't a threat.

After a few extra seconds observing the heartwarming scene, he made a quick glance over to make sure that Manuel was still there. Hopefully this turn of events would keep him from getting any more weird ideas, at least for a little while...

"They're- they're fine," Yuka whispered into Yuki's shoulder, and they, Sal and Manuel, were fine in the sense that they were physically fine, no harm done to them other than exhaustion and fatigue and the general wear and tear of a few days in the wilderness, but they weren't fine to be with after what had happened last night, Yuka wanted to say, but she pushed the thought out because now was not the time for that.

Yuki was here.

She tightened her hug, arms pushing themselves into Yuki's back, ribs, taking in the warmth, the feeling of being home. Chills ran through her, ran up her spine and tingled through her head and her arms and legs, but they were the good kind of chills, the feeling of all the stress and fear and worry physically leaving her body, and her arms continued to dig in because part of her still feared the possibility of never feeling this again, but then she remembered she didn't have to worry, she didn't have anything to fear.

Yuki was here. In the flesh.

And she would make sure that stayed true.

She let go, gave her sister breathing space but still stood close, and looked at her, beaming, grinning. For the first time ever since she woke up, she felt like herself, despite the sweat and tears and rain, she was Yuka. And then, she looked behind her, grin fading into a smile, and remembered the boys were still there, and she remembered there were still things to take care of, here, now.

"Yeah, they've been here with me since day 1. They helped me look for you. They've been good." She wasn't sure if that still held true now, but again, that was for another time.

The question that followed was a reflex perhaps better held back, but it was something she needed to know. She had to ask her sister this, they were sisters. No matter how loaded, painful the answer could be.

"How've you been?"

So the boys were with Yuka the whole time. Thank goodness, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone trying to ruin this miraculous reunion. Yuka’s hug grew tighter, so Yuki responded in kind. The feelings of relief and joy bubbled over and in the form of salty droplets rolling down her cheeks. If this is a dream, don’t her wake up too soon.

After Yuka gave Yuki some breathing room, she asked how Yuki had been. Yuki began to remember the notable parts of her experience up until that point. It was then that the situation they were in began to weigh back in, and Yuki’s relief subsided.

“Well,” Yuki began, “I woke up near a lake. I saw a metal briefcase near my bag and found it had money in it. I left it behind, because I figured it’d slow me down.”

Well, that was only half true. Yuki felt as though the money was some kind of bribe. Also, by “left behind”, she meant tossed it into the lake.

“So then,” Yuki continued, “I met up with Saffron, Arizona, and Caroline. Caroline had lost her medication and I tried to help, but... I couldn’t.”

She remembered Caroline was on the announcements, declaring her dead after she killed someone. A pang of grief pierced her stomach. She sniffed, and continued.

“We decided to travel together, but Caroline got separated from us. Then we met Lizzie. She was scared. She had a pair of shears. We calmed her down, though. So we let her stay.”

She gulped. She knew the next part was going to be a heartbreaking reminder of their horrid reality.

“We spent the night in the garden, the four of us. Then, the announcements came on.”

She paused, steeling herself for the grim reminder.

“We found out about Yuko......”

She paused again. A ball of emotions, including sadness, anger, and guilt, filled the pit of her stomach. She grew silent, anticipating Yuka’s reaction. After a moment of silence, she continued once more.

“I grew more worried for you after that, so I took off on my own. I don’t know where the others are, except Caroline. She was on the announcements too.”

Yuki and Yuka were reuniting. Manuel jut listened to them and said nothing, only lowering his arms when Yuka cleared him and Sal. No talking. He was just going to let them get back together and Manuel wasn't going to do anything to ruin it. They deserved this little bit of peace.

Yuka's smile disappeared at the mention of Yuko.

They weren't complete.

It would just be the two of them now, she remembered. Her lip twitched, tears formed at the corners of her eyes, a pressure formed in her head. There was an urge to scream, to lash out at Yuki like she had with Sal, flail at her, punch her, make her take those words back, unsay those words. But she knew better than that, she knew not to repeat past mistakes. And, there was more of a motivation to do better, to be better.

Yuko had been the pillar of the triplets, in a way. They all turned to each other during times of need, Yuki and Yuko and Yuka. That was what sisters were for, really. But Yuko had always been the stoic one of the three, the calm in the eye of a storm. Whenever Yuka endured a particularly bad breakup, Yuko would always be there to provide words of comfort, to state logical, rational solutions. Whenever Yuki got bullied in school, Yuko had been the one to fight for her, not Yuka. Yuko had been their rock, Yuko had always been the one to step up and speak for what she believed in. Hell, Yuko had signed up for the Gay-Straight Alliance, while Yuka hadn't. Yuko had always been more of a fighter, and Yuka had always envied her for that.

And now Yuko wasn't around. That was the reality of it all, right now. She wasn't around, and now the duo—not trio, God, that hurt to think—needed another rock.

Yuka had always wanted to be like Yuko. So, now was her chance.

"I've... managed."

She looked behind her, at Sal and Manuel. Past mistakes. They stood away from her, as if wary, as if in front of the cage of a tiger. Get too close and you too would be hurt.

"I... let's just talk about it later."

She projected her voice towards Sal and Manuel.

"Yuki and I just need some space. We'll be back in no time."

And with that, she grabbed Yuki's hand, and the two started walking away, side by side.

There was a residual amount of guilt in that lie, but they'd figure it out eventually. Maybe they'd appreciate it, being free of her, not having to be dragged around by her anymore. Maybe it would be better to just outright tell them that they shouldn't follow, that they should part ways, but it felt wrong. As if she were disposing them, after having gotten what she wanted. She'd dragged them around for days, and for what? She didn't even know what they wanted. Sal and Manuel surely had other friends on this island they wanted to see, right? And she had deprived them of that chance. Didn't they deserve an apology, at the very least?

She stared at nothing for a few seconds, stayed silent. She swallowed a lump in her throat.

Too risky. They would either insist on coming with, or they just wouldn't mind. No protest. Just relief, in that latter outcome, and she had suspected it, she knew it, that they didn't trust her, want her around. But, the idea of it being confirmed scared her. Some things were better left as possibilities. Yuka would rather be the first one to leave, the one to sever ties, than the other way around. Rip the Band-aid off.

She leaned into Yuki's ear. "We're not coming back," she whispered. "I'll explain later."

They continued to walk away, until they were nothing but dots in Sal and Manuel's eyes.

((Yuka Hayashibara continues in there's a pale imitation burnt in my eyes))

Yuka seemed like she was upset about Yuko too. Her smile had evaporated and she looked as though she were on the verge of tears. How could Yuki blame her? They lost someone important, someone near and dear to their hearts. The soured mood resulted in a short response from Yuka, making Yuki regret bringing their attention to their awful reality.

Next thing she knew, Yuka had grabbed Yuki by the hand and they walked away from the boys. Yuka claimed she and Yuki needed some space, which Yuki found understandable. Maybe the two of them could have a heart to heart while the boys waited. Honestly, Yuki felt she could benefit from a chat with her. Something that could motivate her to keep moving. Something to motivate them to find a way out of here together.

Then, Yuka whispered something that had Yuki shook.

We’re not coming back. I’ll explain later.

What? Were they just abandoning Yuka’s companions? Why? Did something happen between them that Yuka can’t face them on? As she wondered, Yuki looked back at the boys, who looked more and more like dots they further they walked. Whatever the case, Yuki could only hope to see Yuka through this.

(Yuki Hayashibara, continued elsewhere...)

((Adopting Sal))

It was a bit awkward for Sal as he stood there with Manuel. A necessary kind of awkward, if there is such a thing. There was not much either could say nor needed to be said. Neither needed to interupt these two and their reunion and it seemed to help Yuka, if only a bit as the events from earlier stuck out in his memory.

Even as she said they needed space and started walking away, Sal figured they needed it. He didn't have to worry for days if his brothers were going to die out here and so he might have done the same thing. He just had the worry of never seeing them again.

He had to look away for a second so that thought could be buried in the banks of his mind. He had already cried when he tried to comfort Yuka, he was not ready to do so again.

When he looked back they were far enough to start disappearing from his eyes, he coughed as if to clear his throat as his eyes glanced over to Manuel. "That thing you talked about...looks like we didn't have to do anything about that."

Maybe if it's her she won't hold it in? If it's anybody you talk about this kind of stuff it's your sibling, right?

Manuel watched the remaining two triplets as they beat feet to somewhere else.

"That thing you talked about...looks like we didn't have to do anything about that."

Manuel looked at Sal. "Yeah. Do you think we should clear out?"

Sal answered Manuel with a shrug as his eyes glanced to where the two sisters had been. "There's no rush. Let them have the time." It was easy to say, Yuka was in clear pain from what happened to her sister and had just found the other. He didn't want to ruin that for her nor Manuel to say something stupid to her and sour that mood.

Time was always a finite thing, but it was worse here. For all he knew they could be dead in a day or two. If they needed time together away from them that was fine.

He'll just sit here with Manuel and wait for a bit and then they'll be back so they get moving again.

So he sat down against a tree, but found his fingers gripping the strap of his bag with a cold feeling running up his spine. He quickly shook his head and figured he was just tired.

There was nothing to worry about.

"Hey," He said as he looked to Manuel with an attempt at a smirk. "Know any good camp songs?"

((Sal Bonaventura continued in... ))

No rush. No rush to die, that was for sure.

"Know any good camp songs?"

"Well, there was this one that we sang last summer when the more uptight guys were out. It goes 'Salvation Army, Salvation Army, put a nickel in the drum and you can save a drunken bum. Salvation Army, Salvation Army, put a nickel in the drum and you can saaa-ave'"

((Manuel Figueroa continued in Need A Little Time to Wake Up))